


One In A Million

by lollipopdiaries



Category: Arrow - Fandom, Captain America, Chris Evans - Fandom, chrimily, emily bett rickards - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-08 06:40:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4294575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lollipopdiaries/pseuds/lollipopdiaries





	1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Due to insistent public demand on my twitter account (lollipopsays), is about 10 people considered a public and do their collective voices equal a demand? Anyway, this fic goes out to them who responded to the poll (1) Chrimily RPF/AU, (2) Chrimily RPF or (3) Stelicity (Steve Rogers/Felicity Smoak…..and the winner was….RPF/AU….so here it goes.** _

_**No disclaimers because I admit to everything! When they become a reality, I was one of the first to foreshadow it.** _

_**Before I get hit by an uproar regarding how I will initially portray CE, this is AU people, we know in real life the guy is an upstanding individual.** _

**Story Plot: CE is still CE despite this being a RPF/AU. He was out celebrating another record-breaking block buster movie with friends and had a little too much to drink, not his fault. People just kept giving him drinks. To top in all, he had less than 5 hours sleep during the last 72 hours therefore the combined no sleep/too much drinking all but had him passing out as he attempted to drive his newly purchase Maserati Grancabrio only to almost hit EBR’s little mini-cooper. (yes, the mini-cooper was a deliberate parallel).**

**EBR realizes the car that almost hit hers was a very out of it CE and rather than leave him out in the street awaiting a career threatening scandal, she pulls him to her car and brings him home (to do ungodly things to him…not!), nursing him until his hangover was a thing of the past.**

**EBR ‘s character in this fic is totally AU. She’s a first year resident ER doctor.**

**CHAPTER 1 – An Accidental Meeting**

The sound of screeching tires registered with Chris almost a little bit too late as he tried to right the wheels of his newly acquired Maserati Grancabrio before he stepped on the brakes and hit his head on his wind shield.

“Damn,” Chris said before his passing out.

“Why do you have to be all muscley and heavy, very heavy dead weight,” Chris could barely register a voice muttering and it felt like he was being pulled, dragged, carried, he couldn’t decide which action was happening. No doubt he was still heavily inebriated, that much he knew before he passed out again.

The next time Chris was half conscious, he sensed that he was lying down in a bed, whose bed he had no idea. As he tried to open an eye, all he saw was a blur of purples then he closed his eye again.

The next time his eyes opened, he had to blink thrice before they could fully open then he shut them again because the sun just hurt his eyes giving him a headache or was the headache already there even before he opened his eyes. He tried to think back to what happened and where he actually was. It had been awhile since something as bad as this had happened to him.

Being a public figure, he tried and was successful in avoiding situations like this for several years. But maybe the celebration did get a lot out of hand last night, or was it this morning?

He remembered drowning bottles of several types of liquor. That usually happened when his co-actors were with him but in an all-night drinking session. Usually that happened a little with a little more privacy, they all had big, spacious houses after all.

But this time, they were in a Club, one of the producers had offered up the Club since he owned it. Then everything was a blur after that. He had crammed 67 hours of work in 72 hours leaving him less than 5 hours of sleep.  

Chris remembered being able to reach his sports car, remember driving it although now he thought about it, maybe driving wasn’t what he would call what he was doing that night. Then it came back to him, he almost hit another car last night, or did he actually hit the other tiny, yes it was a tiny red car.

Except lying down in this rather comfortable bed that smelled like, was that vanilla? Why was he lying down in a bed that smelled like vanilla? And what did that have to do with almost hitting the tiny red car.

He tried to organize his thoughts more coherently but the massive headache, a sure sign that he was smashed, was stopping him from working his brain more.

Instead, he tried to get up thinking that maybe splashing some cold water or even a cold, cold shower was what he needed.

He tentatively tried to sit up, noting that he could wiggle his toes freely. That meant his shoes were off. He used his elbows for leverage to get up at least half way. He did this slowly enough so he had time to scan the room he was currently in.

Definitely the room was not familiar, he was 100% sure he had never stepped foot in this room before. It was purple with touches of white, yellow and baby pink and smelled like vanilla. He got it narrowed down to it being a girls room definitely from the furniture in the room, a rather expensive looking beige high back chair in the corner, it definitely wasn’t a little girls room.

Did he hook up with someone last night?

He looked down on his clothes, he was still wearing his pants, had his socks on him. His button down shirt had the edges tucked out and the first four buttons on his shirt were open. But he was still technically fully clothed. So unless he took the time out to dress himself back again after a night of sex which was really out of character for him unless he had fully intended to leave right after the act, which was him, occasionally, then this wasn’t a hook-up.

He finally sat up, his legs on the floor still trying to get his bearings. Testing the muscles on his legs to make sure they would be able to hold his weight up before he attempted to stand up, with a well placed hand on one of the bedposts for a strategic assist.

Now fully on his feet, he looked around again and spotted three doors. One was obviously the bedroom exit, he hoped one of the remaining two doors would be an en-suite because he was in a strange house and he didn’t want to be blindly wandering around, yet.

Opening the first door, he peaked inside to discover it was a small walk-in closet. Definitely a woman’s closet, he noted, dresses, shirts, jeans, shoes, bags, typical, although this closet had a lot of shoes in it. The owner was definitely into shoes. He filed that for future reference, just in case.

Moving to the second door, he almost shouted out an alleluia when his eyes confirmed it was a bathroom, a very clean and definitely feminine bathroom complete with the same vanilla scent present in the bedroom. Whoever owned this bedroom had some kind of fixation with vanilla.

For a moment, his insides had gone cold thinking he was maybe a prisoner in a stalkers house but immediately that thought vanished. He was just being paranoid.

He took the final two steps to reach the sink and look at the vanity mirror, noticing for the first time that his eyes were still bloodshot and his face slightly red, a hangover, definitely.

He splashed cold water on his face several times then gargled seeing some mouth watch on the counter before he spotted a still encased toothbrush just lying on the sink. Concluding the clean toothbrush was laid out for him. He searched around for some tooth paste and used the brush feeling a little better after the task was done.

He stepped back into the room and gave the room a second perusal before he spotted the clock on the side table of the bed reading 3:00, the sun was still up it was obviously the afternoon. He had all but slept the day away. He decided he had stalled enough and finally made his way to the bedroom door, opening it tentatively and as quietly as he could before he sneaked his head out.

It was a narrow hallway that had a wall on one side and led to a stairway on the other side. He chose the stairway as he cautiously walked forward.

Before his foot touched the last step to reach the ground floor, he heard a sound, sounds actually, voices.

“Oh my lord, you almost gave me a heart attack!” the woman stood up from the couch, he had obviously interrupted her watching some tv.

His first instinct was to appraise the woman before him.

He would say she was in her early twenties, hopefully not late teens. She was wearing a tank top and yoga pants. She definitely had some curves on her and was au-natural as far as he could tell, make-up less. This was definitely her place. No one woman, at least one he knew, could get all the way dressed down and natural looking anywhere else but at their own private domain. A domain he now remembered he had invaded, or had he.

She was looking at him, not in the creepy staring way, but more cautiously awaiting his next action type because he probably had been the one creepily staring at her for he estimated at least a good minute now.

He continued to stall, choosing to let his eyes wander around the rest of her apartment before he looked back at her.

“Hi,” he said tentatively.

Her first reaction to his greeting was a frown before she answered him back, “Emily.”

“What?” now he was the one frowning in confusion.

“My name is Emily, just in case you’re wondering. And you don’t need to introduce yourself to me, I know who you are.” She dared to scoff at him, “celebrities who think that they own the world or something, almost hit me, my car actually last night if it hadn’t seen you swerving dangerously and avoided your car.”

Okay…he told himself. Maybe he deserved the slight bitching, although for the life of him he couldn’t quite remember them going from point A to point B, point A being the apparent scene of the near accident and point B being her apartment.

“What?” she now had her arms folded over her chest glaring at him.

He pulled up his hands in surrender, the action reminding him rudely of his headache as he quickly placed both hands on his head.

He heard more than saw her angrily march toward her kitchen, cabinet doors being opened and closed violently before he almost jumped at her voice, “here.”

She was standing fully in front of him, all maybe five foot four of her one hand holding a glass of water, the other holding out two tablets on her palm.

He took the tablets then the glass of water with a muttered thanks, swallowing then drank the water before he looked around to search where he could safely put the glass down only to find her hand reaching out for the glass as she took it from him before she marched back to the kitchen.

He followed her more slowly stopping just as he reached her kitchen nook.

She turned back to him after placing the glass on the sink, she pushed what looked like his phone toward him, “here, why don’t you call whomever you need to call or at least check your messages. That thing has been beeping and ringing nonstop before you woke up.”

Chris eyed her for a few more seconds before his hand grabbed his phone, scrolling down his messages and missed calls before he looked back at her.

“How did I get here?”

“I brought you here, you were obviously out of it and could have been in either a very serious accident or had the press all over your sorry ass once they found you passed out on the street. I thought this was the better option, just a place for you to get over your…,” she gestured all over him clearly referring to his overall state, “your car is probably still where I left it, I tried to park it properly on the side of the road although I’m not really used to driving powerful things and your keys are right there,” pointing to the edge of her kitchen nook once again.

He let all she said sink in before he sincerely told her, “thank you.”

Emily just lifted her eyebrow at him then shrugged, “make your calls,” was all she said then she left her kitchen and sat back down on her couch, his eyes tracking her progress the whole time.

It took another thirty minutes or so before Chris Evans finally left her apartment with another thank you on his lips. The guy who picked him up didn’t say anything except look at her from top to bottom like she was some kind of….never mind, celebrities and people who associate themselves with celebrities weren’t really her cup of tea. She just evaluated the situation, thought to do a good deed even if she totally disagreed with the act that got the man to that situation in the first place, flat out drunk. Her only consolation as that he wasn’t some noisy and rude drunk. No, Chris Evans passed out so nicely on the passenger seat of her red mini-cooper with nary a word.

She had better things to do with her time. She was a resident doctor after all, an emergency room doctor. In fact, she had just finished a shift and was driving home when her car was almost hit by Chris.

Today was supposed to be her free day, a time to unwind but sadly her bed was occupied, or at least it was until about an hour ago. While she had a second bedroom, she hadn’t bothered to put sheets on the bed. No one used the room, no one stayed over. This was her private space and she rarely, if ever, invited people over.

She most definitely didn’t let guys sleep over, especially not in her bed. If she felt inclined for some sexytime, it wasn’t happening in her place. So letting someone invade her personal space, much more sleep on her bed particularly since she wasn’t in the same bed too, was really way off her nature.

Determined to put everything about last night and Chris Evans in the past, she marched toward her bedroom and pulled at the sheets, pulling them off catching a foreign scent that was a mix of alcohol, one she recognized and something that was definitely manly and out of place in her bedroom.

* * *

“So, you gonna tell me what happened?” Charlie, his manager looked at his friend who had his eyes closed.

“Nothing to say.”

Charlie chuckled, “you call me up to pick you up at a place you can’t even give me a clear address to, in yesterday’s clothes may I add and you tell me you’ve got nothing to say. Not to mention there was a woman in that apartment, well not a very friendly, but still she would look hot if only she tried, not that I was trying to insult the woman, your woman? Give me something to work with here!”

“Emily, her name is Emily.”

“Is it just Emily, as in one name, first name, never got past that? Is it how the world works nowadays, just first names then you get up and go? Because I’m a little past my prime here, you have to tell me how the younger generation works it in the 21st century. I don’t want to be labeled an old man at the age of forty-five, okay fine forty-seven, what’s a couple of years between friends.”

“We didn’t, we aren’t….” Chris stopped. He didn’t know how to explain what they were. “She’s just a friend.”

“Oh, so you have friends now who happen to be girls, platonic types. The no exchanging of body fluids, show me yours, I’ll show you mine types?”

“We aren’t like that. This isn’t like that. Besides, I don’t think I’ll be seeing her again. I don’t think she likes me much anyway,” Chris said more to himself than to his friend.

“Those are the kind that are worth something in the end. My wife hated my guts the first time she laid eyes on me, now she loves every little inch of my 213 pound body. I couldn’t imagine myself with any other woman but the one I married, almost twenty years and still going strong, my wife and me.”

“What you have is rare. It’s one in a million. I doubt there are many others like you out there.”

Charlie looked at his friend and ward, shaking his head in the process, “it’s maybe rare but it’s not impossible. She’s out there, somewhere, the woman for you.”

“Yeah well, it definitely wasn’t Emily.”

Charlie snorted, “she definitely hated your guts, that’s something.”

“I think I deserve her hating my guts. Maybe I should send her flowers, it’s the least I could do.”

“Leave it to Uncle Charlie here. I’ll make the arrangements, I got this covered.” Charlie said with a sparkle in his eye.

* * *

True to his word, Charlie did send Emily flowers. It was an extra large bouquet of about two dozen deep red roses. He had gone above and beyond with his task. First researching everything about this Emily woman, in this day and age, everything little thing could be googled. Even an old hog like him knew how to do that, type in Emily-her apartment building and information about the woman exploded on the net.

After sorting through what he thought was the ‘Emily’ he needed to do due diligence on, he knew her face after all, had seen her himself, so he could easily match the name to the face. He found out that Emily was actually, Emily Bett Rickards, 24 years of age, a resident emergency room doctor from Boston Medical Center, single and apparently graduated at the top of her class. Smart, beautiful and a doctor, well Charlie didn’t mind playing match maker. Maybe all they needed was a little bit of push. His pushing skills were on point and he was ready to do the job happily.

* * *

_**If you girls didn’t catch on by now, this is slooooow burn, as requested. Because yes, I do requests now. It’s going to be a couple of chapters of the burn until it will scorch to a burning  ember…..** _

_**Since this is RPF/AU i have to put myself in a zone everytime I write so updates will not be as frequent as when I did ‘Story of Us’ but will try to get a chapter out every few days.** _

_**Before I end, I think Charlie deserves a round of applause ladies, he will have a big role to play….and he wasn’t even supposed to be in this fic, he just wrote himself in, scene stealer!** _

_**Have a good night, day or morning wherever you are, I hope this chapter brought a smile to your faces.** _


	2. Two Days, Two Saves

_**A/N: Here’s the second chapter of my second Chrimily RPF. If you haven’t read my first one, browse down if you’re in my tumblr account to “The Story of Us” for check my other stories if you’re reading this from my Ao3 account.** _

_**You can check-out my other stories via:** _

__**Fanfiction – lollipopdiaries  
Ao3 – lollipopdiaries  
Tumblr – everythinglollipop  
Twitter – lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries) via links**

_**No disclaimers because I admit to everything! When they become a reality, I was one of the first to foreshadow it.** _

_**Before I get hit by an uproar regarding how I will initially portray CE, this is AU people, we know in real life the guy is an upstanding individual.** _

Emily entered the staff entrance of the hospital in her usual way smiling at everyone from the guards to the hospital staff she encountered as she walked through the halls.

The first sign that something was different about the day should have been when old man O’ Leary, the staff entrance senior guard gave her a brighter than usual greeting with his, “it’s going to be a good day today isn’t it Dr. Rickards,” then accompanied it with a wink.

The second sign should have been the looks she was getting and the smiles that were supposed to mean something. Emily just thought everyone was collectively in a good mood. It was a Monday morning after all.

Right before she turned the last corridor a nurse stopped her, “Dr. Rickards!”

Emily turned around shifted her things to one side, “hey Meg, what’s up?

Meg beckoned her forward with a hand giving her a raised eyebrow until Emily stopped in front of the counter and placed her things down to give her friend her full attention.

“You tell me girl?” Meg told her back sassily, “you’ve been busy and you didn’t even tell your friend Meg about it. I thought we were besties!”

Emily frowned trying to shift through her memories about any particular incident she had failed to share with her friend who had been one of her besties since she stepped foot in Boston Medical Center finally deciding she had withheld nothing, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ahem hummm,” giving her friend an appraising look before she folded her arms on her chest, “you sure…because two dozen blood red roses of the finest kind just don’t show up with your name on it out of the blue,” pointing to the very noticeable two dozen roses planted at the edge of the counter.

Emily looked at the roses flabbergasted, who the hell would send her roses, not just ordinary roses mind you because she could tell they were top of the line ones with multiple babies breaths thrown in to give it an even more expensive look.

“Don’t play dumb with me girl,” Meg repeated getting Emily out of her stupor.

“I honestly don’t know who sent them, a patient maybe?” Emily responded before she took the still sealed small envelope addressed to her.

“Come on girl, open it. The only way to know is for you to take a look, who knows it might even be a secret admirer,” Meg said wiggling her eyebrows at her friend who just rolled her eyes.

She dramatically showed the envelope to her friend then Emily opened the seal then very slowly took out the card inside staggering noticeably as she read the message.

Meg placed a hand over her friend’s eyes and waved to catch her attention, “were did you go just then. It must be from a secret admirer then the way you just blushed.”

Emily gave her friend a deer-in-headlights look before she tried to stow the card away safely but Meg sensing her friend’s intention made a quick grab for the card and snatched it away from her.

“Mother fucker, holy Jesus, what the fuck girl! You’ve been holding out on me! Chris Evans sent the flowers! The Chris Evans! Captain fuckin’ America! Holy Shit girl!”

By the time Meg finished her rant, everyone within hearing distance had stopped what they were doing and where now not only listening but looking at Emily with renewed interest, hospital gossip at its finest.

Emily looked around, dammit everyone was staring at her making her blush, embarrassed that she was going to become fodder for gossip just because of the flowers and she defended herself to her friend, “it’s not what you think.”

“Ahem, I may be no doctor girl but I’ve got me a brain. And how do you even know what I may or may not be thinking! So tell me are you guys dating or something?”

A few of the nurses, hospital staff and a couple of other doctors stepped closer to them with the obvious intent to listen in to her response.

“You know what, you can give the flowers away to the children’s ward,” Emily started to gather her things from the counter and made a step to turn around.

“You know you’re not getting away from answering that question anytime soon Em. Damn girl, these weren’t the only flowers dropped off.”

Emily had taken about three steps to away from her friend but turned back around when she heard the last statement, ”what do you mean?”

Meg gave her a cryptic look, “you’ll know soon enough,” then deliberately went about her day ignoring her friend.

Emily huffed for a few seconds then turned around marching toward the resident’s lounge. Damn the man! She said to herself. No one had ever given her such lovely and expensive flowers before as much as her inner girly girl self wanted to savor the moment, the attention she was getting because of the damn flowers prevented her from even having that single moment.

As she pushed the door of the lounge open she felt everyone’s eyes on her. Oh no, she said to herself, everyone has heard about it.

She deliberately made a beeline for her friends and fellow resident doctors Kat and Mikey putting on a plastered smile that quickly faded when her friends stepped aside to show what was hidden behind them. Damn, another two dozen of blood red roses.

Feeling defeated by….the flowers? More the gossip that came with the flowers, she slouched down the couch and groaned loudly.

Kat laughed at her friend, “not exactly the reaction we were hoping for.”

“I’m having quite a morning.”

“And we’re guessing it has something to do with these flowers,” Mikey pointed to the bouquet, “and the ones at the nurses counter. The guy is obviously willing to spend a lot on flowers, it must be some night.”

Emily placed her hands on her face groaning again, “I don’t know how many times I have to repeat myself, nothing happened, there was no night to remember, no date, no anything….”

“….yet,” Kat cut her.

“But the guy’s definitely into you if the flowers are a clue. Hell, the guy clearly has the money to burn and he’s using it to make a statement. Which by the way can easily be interpreted as ‘I like you’ or ‘I’m into you. I’m a guy, I know these things,” Mikey pursued.

Emily was aware that three other people aside from her and her friends were also in the lounged and tuned into them and their conversation.

“If I were you Em, I’d be shouting it to the rooftops, this is not just any guy after all,” Kat told her with a look.

“Oh my god, did you read the card!” Emily stood up and looked at her friends shocked.

“We peaked, it’s different from actually reading,” Kat defended herself.

“Shit Em, will you get over it and move on to more important topics like why the hell is Chris Evans sending you four dozens of roses, the Chris Evans!”

Emily frowned and placed a hand on her temple, “I honestly don’t know why. We met. Not in the best of circumstances. I think both of us would agree he didn’t exactly give out the best first impression. It was weird, it was one of those things and it’s over, done with. And just so that you know, not that I have to explain myself to you or anyone,” giving the other occupants of the lounge looks, “it wasn’t a date, we aren’t seeing one another and I do not and I believe he’s on the same page when it comes to this, we aren’t likely to cross paths again.”

“But the flowers…” Mikey argued.

‘What about the flowers?” Em exhaled, “look maybe he felt the need to apologize,” she said rolling her eyes, “and he rightfully should. But that’s it. It’s just really crazy that he knew where to send them,” referring to the flowers, “I only gave him a first name.”

“And that right there is exactly why I think this is not the end of this, whatever this is,” Mikey told her.

Emily slumped back down on the couch deflated as her friends shared a grin.

* * *

Chris had his feet up the table of his manager’s office. He had recovered from his ‘hang-over’ and was now going over his schedule for the next few months with Charlie.

“So I got a month of downtime?”

“You’re schedule is going to be light for a couple of weeks you only have that charity event the next weekend.”

“Great, that’s great. No time like the present to start with the downtime then.”

Chris was cruising along the streets with his a few of his buddies, Brad and Adam, who he had grown up with. Both of them had been part of his entourage so to speak, when their easy going banter was interrupted by a screech of tires then screams that they all thought was just a block down the street.

Alert as ever, Chris maneuvered his car forward until they came upon the accident. A car had hit a boy who was maybe around eight and after surveying the scene, Chris and his friends went into action.

After making sure that it was fine to carry the little boy amidst screams from his mother of help repeatedly, Chris scooped the boy in his arms and told his friend to take the wheel as his other friend guided the boy’s mother toward the car with them.

Being very familiar with Boston and the side roads, they made it to the hospital in less than fifteen minutes with the boy still in Chris’ arms as they scampered off to the emergency room of Boston Medical Center with the boy’s mother shouting for help once again.

The emergency room first responder staff quickly flew into action, one orderly taking the boy out of Chris’ arms and into a gurney while a nurse went into action as they collectively pushed the gurney toward one of the stalls with the boy’s mother and Chris and his friends following behind them.

“”Doctor, over here!” the nurse shouted out.

A woman with her hair tied up in a messy bun rushed forward immediately, “what do we have here?”

As the nurse explained exactly what the situation was, she was after all given an update by the boy’s mother as they pushed the gurney toward a stall, Chris was slowly recovering from his adrenalin rush and was now focusing on his surroundings including doing a double take on the attending resident doctor.

Holy Cow! Of all the doctors and hospitals in Boston, he had to be here at the exact moment experiencing a déjà vu of sorts.

What was her name, Em…Emily right, the girl from the night before who had been his angel, well sort of, when she took him in and cared for him, gave him a warm bed and all, in so not an x-rated cheesy romantic way. She worked here, at the hospital and she was a…..doctor? Talk about fate, that was two meetings in two days or nights, no one was really counting, well except him maybe.

“How about you, are you injured?” Emily asked him absent-mindedly her focus still on the young boy but she clearly spotted his bloody shirt thinking he was also injured.

Chris could pinpoint the exact moment she had recognized him because her eyes almost popped out of her eyeballs and she almost dropped the instrument that was in her hand before she gave him a confused look.

Chris had to clear his throat because for some reason he was suddenly nervous, “i…we…my friends and I brought in the boy and his mother,” referring to the woman who still distraught but being placated by a nurse, “we were driving by. And this isn’t mine, it’s belongs to the kid,” referring to the blood in his shirt.

“Oh okay”  she said finding it a little difficult to look away from Chris for a few seconds before she finally did and focused again on the little boy.

Chris stepped forward, his actions a little strange to his two friends who had known him all their life.

“Em…Emily, is he going to be okay?” Chris asked her.

Now it was the turn of everyone who heard the question to give the two a double take.

Chris’ friends Adam and Brad look at one another, each of them giving the other a shrug that was meant to say, do they know one another? The Nurse and the boy’s mother also stopped talking, with the boy’s mother realizing who exactly had  come to their rescue for the first time as did a couple of other nurses who were assisting.

She sneaked a quick look at Chris before she gave her attention back to the little boy, “as far as I can tell no broken bones, there are a few injuries that will require a few stitches but you’re a brave boy aren’t you,” her attention was now on the little boy who was finally conscious, giving the boy a bright smile.

The boy’s mother started to move forward to hug her son but the nurse pulled her back, “I’m sorry I’ll have to ask you to stay back and maybe hang-out for a bit at the seats out front, we just have to stitch him up little,” she turned to the mother and she answered with the name of her son, “Jason, what a nice name, then he’ll be good as new.”

The whole time that the nurse and the boy’s mother were conversing, Emily’s attention had remained on the child while Chris’ attention remained on Emily.

It was only when one of his friends nudged him on the shoulder did he come out of his daze. He was being pulled by his friend Brad away from the child and Emily and into a more public section of the ER than contained chairs. He noticed his other friend Adam gently guiding the boy’s mother to a chair before he returned to his two friends.

“Who the hell is Emily?” Brad asked him intrigued.

“What?” Chris answered him lamely.

“The doctor, the hot blond you were just talking to a few minutes ago before you went into a trance?” Brad told him this time exasperated.

“She’s….a friend?” Chris grimaced, “well not really, at least not by her definition.”

“Did you and she, are you…” Brad asked him again, not quite sure how to phrase the question.

“No, no, no…we aren’t like that. It’s not like that,” Chris hurriedly clarified.

“Then how is it like then?” Adam his other friend asked, now joining them.

Chris surveyed the hospital ER finally noticing that they, he, was attracting some attention because people were now recognizing him and pulled both his friends to a quieter side but still within seeing distance of the boy’s mother.

“It’s complicated,” Chris explained as if his answer explained everything.

Brad and Adam both looked at him clearly puzzled with Adam speaking first, “it’s not really, is she an ex or a fling, it’s not a complicated question.”

“She isn’t both. Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“So she isn’t an ex, a fling, a friend, but you two know each other and on a first name basis.”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“She’s not a sister and a cousin, because we should know that, we grew up together. So again we ask, who the hell is Emily!”

“I….she, I almost hit her car the other night, I was out with the guys celebrating. I apparently passed out or something and next thing I knew I was lying down on her bed….fully clothed,” stressing that part, “and at her home with her on the couch in her living room, fully clothed too. She told me she didn’t want me passed out in my car so she brought me to her home.”

“That was nice of her,” Brad commented.

“Wait, I’m missing a good part of the story. So when you woke up you just got up and left, that’s it?” Adam asked confused.

“She scolded me, told me to call someone to pick me up and never said another word to me until I left. I didn’t even know she worked her and was a doctor here, hell I didn’t even get a last name,” Chris shook his head at himself.

“Did you even thank the girl for saving you from a potential scandal, you know the press would have eaten you up if they had gotten wind of it” Brad said.

“I said thank you,” when both his friends gave him a look, “and I asked Charlie to send her flowers,” he added raising his hands in surrender.

Brad scoffed and shook his head at his friend, “sometimes Chris you really test me.”

“You don’t see do-gooders like that very often these days. Especially nice, single, smart young ladies like Emily,” stressing out the name as Adam looked at his friend.

“Fine, I will apologize and thank her nicely. In fact, I’ll do it now, right now,” Chris said with confidence he suddenly wasn’t really feeling.

Brad and Adam both made gestures for him to go ahead and put his money where his mouth was.

Chris gave his friends one last look then walked back the way he had last seen Emily only to be blocked by a nurse with her arms across her chest.

“Just because you’re a celebrity and probably my favorite actor doesn’t mean you can waltz you’re way right in here. Dr. Rickards is busy at the moment.”

Chris looked at her confused, a look that was interpreted accurately by the nurse. Who the hell was Dr. Rickards, he was looking for Emily.

“Dr. Emily Bett Rickards? She is the one you were looking for?”

“Emily yep, that’s her” Chris answered her trying to use some charm.

The nurse just raised an eyebrow at him, “you may be good looking and all but you’re still not getting past me, handsome. You’ll have to wait ‘til she’s on a break.”

Chris rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, clearly he wasn’t going to get to see Emily anytime soon, “and when will that be.”

The nurse gave him another raised eyebrow, “you don’t know? You didn’t even make the time to know not only her last name but also to learn more about her? Having a pretty face isn’t going to cut it with Emily. I don’t know what your game is mister Captain America, but if you’re just after one thing, it’s not going to happen, I’m telling you that right now. I need to talk some sense back to this girl,” she shook her head, “and you, step away from my ER. I don’t want to see your face here again even if you pretty it up.”

Finally getting a word in, “now look,” Chris glanced at her nameplate, ”Meg, we obviously have a misunderstanding going on here. Emily….Dr. Rickards,” Chris corrected as he got another look from the nurse, “and I are…..acquainted, barely friends. And I don’t know why I have to explain myself to you.”

Nurse Meg stepped back to appraise him before she continued, “do you give all your acquaintances four dozen roses, and not just ordinary roses, blood red rare roses? Because hell, you and I are properly acquainted now,” emphasizing the word, “and I expect my roses tomorrow at 8 sharp in the morning.”

Chris frowned confused and thought back, Charlie his manager said he would take care of sending her flowers as a thank you. Well, it looked like he sent them to the hospital, how Charlie even knew where to send them which was not her house didn’t surprise Chris. Charlie was a thousand and one ways a gem at his job. But four dozen red roses! What was Charlie thinking!

Nurse Meg was still impatiently looking at him while he struggled for a quick retort. He couldn’t tell her it was his manager who sent them, well he could but for some reason he didn’t want that disclosed so he stammered out the first thought that went through his head.

“It was special circumstances, private and between the both of us,” Chris said at the same time knowing his defense wasn’t only lame but that he was digging himself an even deeper grave.

“Ahem.”

“I can’t tell you,” he felt like he was on some kind of trial and Nurse Meg’s piercing eyes were hypnotizing him to tell the truth, “it’s all good. I have nothing but good intentions when it comes to Emily….Dr. Rickards,” he corrected once again while taking note to stir clear of the very intimidating Nurse Meg in the future, wondering to himself why he was even thinking of returning to this hospital in the future.    

“You still can’t see her and I still expect my roses at 8 in the morning sharp, now run along,” Nurse Meg shooed him away like a little boy and she let him as he stepped back several paces before he turned away and stalked back to the ER entrance to search for his friends.

His two friends stood up from where they were seated to approach him, “well?”

“I didn’t get to see her, some nurse blocked my way and I couldn’t get past her,” Chris confessed.

For some reason his two friends, two closest, oldest friends found that funny, hilarious even and it made him bite his cheek.

After both his friends recovered from their bout of laughter, Brad asked his friend seriously, “you are honestly not going to let that stop you, are you?”

Chris rubbed his face in frustration, “and I’m sure you guys aren’t going to let me.”

* * *

Later that night, Emily had just ended her long and seemingly endless shift, that plus the gossip that had started up earlier and had picked up when it was known that the guy in question who had sent her the four dozen red roses, the actor and celebrity who was every girls dreamboat had actually visited her at the ER during the day. Whoever had spun that story had spun it in such a way that there was totally no mention of the fact that there was a little boy who was involved and was the reason for his sudden and unexpected visit.

Nooooo, the hospital gossip excluded that major component and skipped forward from four dozen red roses to Chris Evan visiting her at the ER because he apparently missed her that much.

She was just about to fit her key to her front door when she noticed a rectangular wooden expensive looking box at her foot glancing back out at the street for a few seconds before she bent down to grab the box, holding it with one hand while she continued to unlock her door with the other.

She had deliberately left the box on top of her living room center table and went about her usual nightly routine, gotten undressed and ready for bed, eaten dinner and was now about to sip her cup of tea as she seated down on her couch when her eyes returned to the box.

Curiosity finally won out as she pulled the box toward her while lowering her cup of tea. The box itself looked expensive enough, dark cherry wood. She went for the card first, well it shouldn’t be a surprise but then again who else would send her stuff like this, no one but Chris Evans. Not that he sent her stuff regularly. The red roses were a one-time thing. She flipped the hinge open and gasped. It was red wine of the finest kind, of the Cabernet Sauvignon variety. Well he definitely knew his way to a girl’s heart, well not her heart because there was just no way he was after her heart, not that she even entertain the thought that he was.    

In fact the guy actually confused her. What the hell is a girl like her supposed to think?

She remembered the message on the cards this morning, it had the balance of being impersonal but sincere or at least that’s how she took it, _‘I hope these flowers make up for my manners’_ and they were simply signed Chris Evans. She took the message face value because that’s the only way she really could take it. He after all barely thanked her for her good deed because she considered what she had done a good deed after all. Half pulling, half-carrying a full grown man twice her weight was proof enough that it should be considered a good deed.

But this second card took the cake. _‘Two days, two saves.’_ Pointed and precise, Emily analyzed. Although the following sentence literally astonished her, _‘Dinner sometime? I’ll be waiting for you call.’_ again he signed it with his name, this time handwritten and it contained a phone number. She assumed his personal number.

The ball was in her court so to speak. What’s a girl to assume at this point…

* * *

_**Stopping here for now…..just because.** _


	3. The Fall

_**A/N: Third chapter Chrimilers!  Do I hear a collection burst of sighs. Our girl is not going to be easy to win over, not even for someone of Chris’ status.  Enjoy everyone.** _

_**You can check-out my other stories via:** _

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Twitter – lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries) via links**

_**No disclaimers because I admit to everything! When they become a reality, I was one of the first to foreshadow it.** _

_**CHAPTER 3 – The Fall  
** _

 

Emily heard a throat clear behind her making her turn around. Considering that there were just two people she knew in this event and they were both dancing on the makeshift dancefloor she was a hundred percent sure it wasn’t any one she knew so she cautiously turned around.

“Oh,” was all she could say. Surveying the room with her eyes, she realized she was probably the only person who didn’t notice the entrance of the Chris Evans, even her friends who were dancing had their attention to her now. Wow, talk about being completely out of it.

“We meet again,” Chris said all too casually for her sake.

She let her eyes wonder back to her friends for a few seconds before she responded not looking at him, “we seem to be doing that….a lot.”

“Hi, I’m Brad, Brad Livingston and this is Adam Kramer, our friend here seems to be forgetting his manners,” Brad inserted holding out his hand to her and it was only at that moment that she registered that Chris and she weren’t alone.

Emily covered the oversight with a nervous giggle then shook hands with Brad and Adam, honestly, she was totally fine with the distraction. It gave her enough time to gather herself.

“We actually saw you in action last week at the ER, you were obviously busy and we didn’t want to bother you,” Adam shared.

Emily frowned for a few seconds then put everything quickly together. “You were with Chris. You brought the little boy in.  You guys….?”

“We’ve been friends since we were all kids, grew up in the same neighborhood,” Chris was the one who spoke up this time.

“That’s nice.” Emily said, it was the only thing she could think to say still conscious of at least half the eyes of the whole ballroom on her, because she was talking to Chris Evans and things like this just didn’t happen everyday even if the partakers for this fundraisers were all little celebrities in their own right, politicians, doctor specialists, local media personalities, high-class socialites. They were all probably wondering what was Chris Evans, the most known celebrity tonight doing talking to her.

“May I have this dance?” she registered what Chris said with eyes that widened in surprise before uncharacteristically stammering a broken response.

“Dancing…not a good idea, I mean, I don’t really dance that well….I don’t want to step on your toes or even worse, no…no.”

Momentarily flummoxed, he turned to his two friends who both gave him equal glares before he gave his attention back to Emily determined to have some alone time with her.

“I’m a good dancer, in fact, I’m a great dancer. You are looking at a dance school product. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Sensing that he needed to give her a push, he went with a word he rarely used lately only because people just gave him everything so easily, “please. One dance,” he even held up one finger for emphasis.

Emily turned to her his friends who both shrugged then exhaled dramatically before she nodded to Chris who felt like he wanted to fist pump the air even if this was so not the place for it.

He just couldn’t help the happy dance his inside was doing at the moment. Finally! It felt like he won something, not quite an Oscar…but definitely something.

He positioned them in the edge of the dance floor for a little more privacy, supposedly far away from the wandering eyes of the public because they were definitely wandering in their direction a little too much for his liking.

“Okay?” Chris focused his whole being on her, giving her direct eye contact while asking.

The palm of her hands were on his shoulders, his hands on her waist, well one hand on her waist the other slowly crawling up her lower back determined as he was not to scare her away now  that he had her literally in his arms.

Emily broke eye contact then focused her eyes on the flesh of his neck, “not really. I’m not comfortable with all the attention although it’s probably because I’m dancing with you. Everyone is obviously wondering why.”

Chris pulled her a little closer to him, a mere centimeter if anyone bothered to measure and paused their swaying to get her attention, “you don’t honestly believe that?” He told her in disbelief searching her eyes as she looked up stunned at his statement. When she thought he was about to continue, he instead leaned over making her catch her breath in anticipation of what he was going to do next almost letting out a disappointed sigh when his head made a beeline  for her ear instead and whispered, “they’re all at looking us, you and me. Every man who’s got eyes sees what I do, except I beat everyone to the punch by asking you to dance first. You are by far the most enchanting thing here what fascinate me more is that you don’t even know it!”

Emily laughed because that was the only reasonable way she could react to what someone like Chris Evans just said. As she laughed she pushed away from his a bit making Chris drop his hands around her.

“I don’t know exactly what kind of game you’re playing but I want it to stop now.” She said in a rather furious whisper to him that he had to take her arm and guide her a little away from the dance floor to a quieter section because he had a feeling that his head was about to be bitten off by the doctor who was previously in his arms.

Emily gathered her breath and began again as if she wasn’t forced to pause for a minute, “the flowers, the wine, the attention…..If this is about me helping you out when I thought you needed the help then consider the flowers and the wine as me accepting your thank you even if they were really on the extravagant side but hey….maybe that’s the way your type works.”

“My type…” Chris got in two words before his words where drowned out again.

“But this has got to stop already. Your welcome, I hope to never see you in my ER again….have a nice life,” she finished with flourish before she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in.

“You finished?” Chris just asked her as calmly as he could determine not to rise up to her bait.

Emily shrugged her shoulders and waved her hands around in answer.

“Okay….I heard you, listened to everything you said. Now it’s my turn to talk, my turn,” he said once more for emphasis, “and your turn to listen,” he gave her a look that told her what he would say next needed her full attention.

“First, thank you. I didn’t say it properly the first time and this time I am, I just wanted to get that out of the way. Second, in no way is this something I do regularly…a type of thing that I do regularly, just to be clear. Third, this….you, I sent you that note with the wine and my private number because I meant what I said in that note, I really wanted to get to know you, genuinely. I know that under normal circumstances we probably would have never met and believe me when I say it would have been my loss. But we did meet once and thought it was the end of it, but we met again and keep meeting again although I will confess I did know you would be here just in the interest of full disclosure, so here I am, asking for a chance, a date, one date.”

Emily eyed him the whole time he was giving her his speech the degrees of her eyes shifting from wide to narrow varying depending on what he was saying finally settled on saying, “your quite demanding tonight. First you asked for one dance, now you’re asking for one date. To be really honest, I think you are wasting your time with me.”

* * *

Over at the other side, Meg and Kat had gone back to the table they had occupied earlier with Emily and together with Chris’ friends Brad and Adam they were all unabashedly staring at their friends.

“Fifty bucks says she walks away from him,” Kat told Meg.

“You underestimate my bud over there, Chris can pour on the charm if he wants to and believe me he wants to,” Adam answered Kat. They had introduced themselves to one another a few minutes ago and strangely all four were interacting like they had known eachother longer than five minutes.

“Ahem, we’ll were talking about my girl Emily. That girl is no push over. It’ll take more than charm and good looks to win my girl over,” Meg defended Em.

“Fifty bucks then, because we have faith in our friend. After two false starts, he’s not going to just let her walk away now,” Brad said his eyes still firmly planted on his friend.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later both Chris and Emily joined their friends but both of them gave nothing away even when Adam couldn’t help himself and asked Chris bluntly if his friend managed to convince the girl to go out with him.

The only reaction was a scoff from Emily that her friends took as a sign of triumph on their side that she did not give in to the temptation of Chris.

A few minutes later the organizers whisked Chris away for a few pictures then before anyone even knew it, the night was drawing to a close.

Chris had been waylaid longer than he thought and he repeatedly scolded himself for not thinking to glue her to his side the moment the organizers had whisked him away, she was a doctor anyway so their wouldn’t be any questions except maybe those even he wouldn’t have been prepared to answer this early on.

As he glanced around, it was more than obvious that she and her friends were nowhere in sight which wasn’t a surprise to him anymore since she really did excel in escapes.

He was armed with the knowledge that he was able to wrestle a date out of her, one he actually liked better than his first plan. One that involved just him and her, at her apartment because she buckled the moment he mentioned his place, and him cooking a simple dinner for two.

She really didn’t believe he could cook and it was that challenge that finally trapped her reluctantly into accepting that this Saturday he would be cooking her dinner at her apartment. Just the thought of that sent a smile to his face which was caught by his friends.

“If this is what spending twenty minutes with that girl does to you, I’m almost  scared to see what an hour with her would be like,” Adam nudged his friend.

“You really like the girl don’t you?” Brad asked his friend seriously.

“You think?” Adam answered for his friend, “the whole time I had known you, you never acted like an overgrown teenager over a girl, even when you were dating those hollywood starlets. But you know what, I like the girl.”

Brad nodded agreeing wholeheartedly, “beautiful and intelligent, that combination alone is already rare but complete that with down-to-earth, genuine and not to mention hardworking I got that from her friends by the way, it’s almost a miracle the girl is still unattached at this point.”

Chris gave his friends a toothy grin and shrugged, “maybe she was waiting for me.”

* * *

The next week flew by for both Emily and Chris who were both doing their own things.

Chris however made it a point to text her regularly, and by regularly that meant everyday. He had finally gotten her number that fundraiser night and he couldn’t help himself from sending her messages that asked her what her day was like or did she have time to eat or that one time when she responded to him that she was having a really bad day since she couldn’t save a patient that had landed on her ER he had asked her if he could come over but she just said that she was a little better since she was able to talk it out with a few friends and that his message had been exactly what she needed to get her over what she was feeling.

Chris was struck by how much her words had impacted on him. He was unusually light headed knowing that he could provide Emily with a little comfort knowing that her line of work wasn’t really emotionally easy.

During that week he had spent countless moments just analyzing the emotions he was having.

True, he was a grown man and had a lot of relationships in the past. His stature as one of hollywoods current ‘it’ guys gave him access to countless women some of whom he had short-term relations with. It was difficult to find a genuine relationship in his world not only because of the industry he moved in but because work required him to not put up roots anywhere.

It was unexpected. She was unexpected, but good unexpected. His friends and manager approved he had no doubt, not that he was seeking their approval.

She challenged him to work hard, not that he didn’t work hard in his craft because he took that seriously, paid his dues. But once he had made a name for himself, everything else came easy for him, especially women.

He grinned at the thought that he was actually seriously going to do wooing the old fashion way with Emily and for a reason he couldn’t quite pin down yet, he actually liked it. Even the feeling of not knowing where he really stood with Emily, an unsettling feeling was welcome for him. He was determined to work hard to prove to her that it was worth it, that she was worth it. He definitely wasn’t going to get short-cuts with her, that was for sure and he was actually glad she wasn’t one of those girls. Maybe, that was partly the attraction she had but he knew it was also more than that, a lot more than that.

* * *

Emily looked at her watch once again. It was four o’clock in the afternoon. An hour from now Chris would be in her apartment as previously agreed, cooking or at least trying to cook, she still had a little doubt in her mind that he actually did cook.

Her friends had teased her about Chris endlessly during the week about how she had acted during the Fundraiser. In fact, her life had momentarily been upended by curious hospitalmates wanting scoops about her supposed relationship with one Chris Evans.

She automatically denied she was in a relationship with Chris, it was the truth anyway. She was in no way guilty of lying or misleading. A few had doubted her choosing to believe what was being written in some gossip magazines and sites given the pictures as evidence. The fact that Chris had only danced once, and with her, was enough to conclude that there was something going on between them even if it was just some kind of one-night stand thing, because more than half of the articles had alluded to that, a fact that Kat had brought up everytime they ate together during lunch.

Meg being the motherhen that she was gave anyone, including a couple of doctors, a scolding when they insisted on getting some kind of insider scoop, despite the hospital having an air of professionalism, people will still be people and wanted in on what looked like a storybook drama within their midst. One between their very own and an A-list celebrity was news anywhere, so yeah, they all had eagle eyes on her for a week now.

Emily had never been comfortable sharing personal aspects of her life before and things weren’t about to change. Despite the threats from her friend Kat and the pointed one-liners she was now receiving from Meg, she still withheld from disclosing the fact that Chris was going to be at her place, cooking her dinner in under an hour, it wasn’t a date, at least she didn’t consider it one therefore she wasn’t really twisting that truth when her friends repeatedly asked her if she had said yes to the date Chris had wanted a couple of weeks back now.

She finally parked her car in her driveway with fifteen minutes to spare all tuckered out having had another stress-filled day at the ER. Not even the thought that Chris would be cooking her dinner got her that much excited. If only the whole world knew, they would all think she was crazy not to be melting at that happening. But, at that moment all she wanted to do was draw a hot bath and sink into her covers and have a good night sleep.

After she had placed her bags in her room and surveyed her living room to make sure everything appeared to be in place she went in search of a bottle of red wine, she deserved a glass after all, maybe two that by the time Chris had press the doorbell to her house she had already drowned her first glass and was nursing a second one.

“Hi,” Chris greeted her by handing her one of the brown bags he was carrying while still holding on to the other two pressing his luck a bit by leaning down to peck her cheek with a barely their kiss before he fully entered her door.

“This seems a lot just for two,” Emily sneaked a peak at the inside of the brown bag she he had passed on to her.

“I promised the lady a full meal, a full meal she gets. I remember said lady being skeptical that I could pull it off. I say, prepared to be dazzled,” he finished putting down the brown bags on her kitchen counter.

Spotting the opened red wine bottle on the corner of the counter he continued, “I see you started without me, but I think this would go perfect with what I had in mind to make for tonight.”

Some of Emily’s weariness had miraculously disappeared in just the few minutes that he was actually here which got her to file this thought away for future examination and evaluation because she couldn’t right now, not when Chris was quite chatty, like he was enjoying the moment, this moment.

The brown bags actually housed ingredients for a salad, a beef recipe that turned out to be beef wellington and desert which was premade having admitted that he had not yet perfected the art of dessert.

In truth, the salad and surprisingly the beef wellington was really good, as in restaurant quality good. Emily had watched a few Masterchef episodes and she knew it wasn’t easy to make a wellington. Hell, she couldn’t make one herself but Chris Evans definitely surprised her with his abilities in the kitchen.

The fact that he later confessed that he had practiced cooking the wellington for four days prior to today just foddered her belief that maybe since Chris was making all these efforts, that she should give him a serious chance, if he still wanted one that is.

Things between them had also been unexpectedly comfortable and light. She was even ‘allowed’ by Chris to act as his kitchen assistant but limited her role to handing him some spices and setting the table. It was a quite domestic, with a very domestic air of two people who had done this several times already which made her pause further.

The Chris she saw tonight, the Chris he was sharing with her was so very far removed from what she imagined him to be, that made her decide early on that they were just two different people with very dissimilar to ever find middle ground between them.

But this was cozy, relaxing and exactly what she had needed without even knowing it as they ate dessert and had coffee in her living room. And it scared her a bit to be feeling this making her feeling of insecurity rise to the top once again.

She didn’t want to crave this, to want this. Because for all she knew this could be just a one-time thing. Chris had been suspiciously quite by the time they were having dessert. Maybe she concluded, he was having second thoughts, maybe he realized this wasn’t worth it, she wasn’t worth all the effort, that the reality of the situation vastly underwhelmed him.

Deciding she didn’t want to prolong this torture anymore, she gulped down the remainder of her coffee and stood up to gather the cups and bring them to the kitchen and start cleaning up the dishes without saying a word to him.

He let her walk away from him this time, following her progress with his eyes as she reached her kitchen.

He needed the moment to gather himself too, if he were completely honest. Everything about tonight was a new experience for him. He almost never did this, and never during first dates because this was a date even if she refused to call it that.

The domestic feel of the situation. Him cooking for her. Them enjoying the evening meal that they prepared together, because he was going to give her credit just for being there beside him for sure. By the time they had reached dessert, he knew he had become less talkative and jovial and more subdued.

In his defense this was because he really felt there was no need for conversation, he just felt so settled and content in the quiet, just being beside her watching tv although if you asked him later he really wouldn’t know what it was about because his whole being was just focused on her and her alone savoring every second of her being just a foot away from him, enjoying a normal evening with him. Something he hadn’t had in years if he discounted those nights with his family and friends.

So when she abruptly stood up, he was brought out of his stupor and could only follow her silently with his eyes. While he was 100% comfortable with her, he still hadn’t spent a lot of time with her to know everything about her including her likes, dislikes, ticks and basically how her mind works, which was why he back-tracked and searched his mind for anything that could have changed the mood of the evening because she was definitely sending out not so good vibes at that moment.

What had he done to change the previous mood except maybe he went inside his head too deep that she interpreted him being silent as something else. Whatever it was, he didn’t want the evening to end on that note because this was just the beginning for him.

This confirmed what he had already accepted a few weeks back. That he had to work even harder now that he had one foot in the door, in this case, inside her apartment.

“Move over,” Chris said as he got the plate she was rinsing from her.

“I got it.” Emily told him her voice noticeable distance as she took the plate Chris grabbed from her back, “You cooked, I’ll wash up.”

Not wanting to antagonize her further at the moment he backed off and leaned against the kitchen nook as he watched her work, her back to him as she finished washing off the last of the dishes.

“Are we okay?” Chris asked her as she placed the last of the dishes on the dryer.

Emily turned around to face him with a frown on her face, “why wouldn’t we be,” then looked anywhere but at him as she continued, “thanks for dinner, it was….great. Not everyone can claim that the Chris Evans had cooked them dinner. It’s going to be a nice memory for me, but this is not the movies, life goes on so……I guess this is where we say goodbye.”

Chris approached her cautiously unsure what was happening after the nice start that they had, “is it something I did? I thought we were doing fine and this was never intended as a goodbye, unless……am I not good enough, not up to your standards as far as the date went?” by the time he ended his statement, he was right in front of her searching her face for some answers.

Emily closed her eyes to block off the guy in front of her who was making her loose whatever remained of her resolve to stand firm and nip whatever this was in the bud, she had a feeling she had to cut the ties right now because if this went any further along, she could be in dangerous territory and she had to protect her heart at all costs.

“It…you…I don’t know what to think okay! I just know that I can’t let this go any further. I don’t need this complication in my life now.”

Chris lifted a hand so he could touch her cheek but paused midway, he had approach this with extreme prudence, this conversation had taken a turn that usually made him want to run as far away as possible because this was definitely not a first date kind of conversation but he threw all caution into the wind and matched her raw honesty.

“Is that what I am to you, a complication?” it scared him to think that was how she categorized him but he needed to know.

“Yes. No. I don’t know. You’re an unknown and I don’t like things I can’t define. I don’t know why you’re doing this, if this is something random you do when you have the time. I just can’t…I’m not the type of girl that does random things. I like order. I like to know what’s going to happen. “

Finally, he got something he could use, “first of all, I do not do this randomly. Believe me when I say I have better things to do with my time. Second, so that we are clear because I remember saying this before, none of this is designed as a one-time thing. In fact, I was looking forward to asking you out on a second date right after coffee. Like I said before, I wanted to get to know you better and what I’ve learned so far,” he breaks into a smile that Emily couldn’t look away from even if she wanted to, “just makes me want to get to know you even better.  I hope I’ve given you no further reason to think that I am not taking any of this seriously, I hope me laying all this out in the open will clear the air about,” he waved his hand in the air before saying, “everything. Have I made my intentions very clear?”

“Crystal,” was Emily answer blushing at the intensity in his eyes.

After that, Chris deliberately dialed down his emotions and channeled playful as he placed both hands on the sink effectively trapping Emily between them but leaving maybe three or four inches of space between them, he didn’t want to be too forward although his body was screaming it.

“So, about that date,” Chris wiggles his eyebrows, he hadn’t felt this light in a long time, especially not with a girl.

She looked up at him, there was a good six inches in height between them making her tilt her head at an angle that that brought their lips just inches apart since he was looking down at her, blushing again as her thoughts began to run away with her she turned her face to the right deliberately focusing on the kitchen cabinet because this was slightly awkward, “you could bring some take-out next time, you’ve proven you can cook already.”

Chris sighed lifting a hand so that he could tilt her face back to his before saying, “I was thinking more of us eating out, in a restaurant….”

“I’m not quite ready for a public setting, I’m sorry,” feeling the need to apologize to him.

“Hey, there is no need to apologize for that.”

Emily sighed, “it’s just that people have been giving me a little grief about the fundraiser and that dance and asking too many questions.”

“Then it’s I who should be apologizing for putting you in a situation like that, forgive me?” Chris put on all the charm he could master in a look.

Emily could only suck out a breath in reaction, Chris Evans was one fine dude and when he looked at her like that well…..she was putty in his hands.

Chris smiled inward not letting her see that he was happy at the effect he had on her because he didn’t want to appear full of himself much more, scare her away.  
“Well?” Chris interrupted her inner musings still smiling.

“You’re forgiven and will you stop with that look!”

“What look?” he asked her innocently, his arms still trapping her against the sink but he still didn’t bother to step any closer.

“That look, don’t play dumb.”

He decided to change course, “so that second date? What about I pick you up,” as she started to protest thinking he didn’t listen to her and went on with thinking about bringing her to a restaurant, he gave her a raised brow which was enough to quiet her down, “and, this time we could hang-out at my house. It seems fair since I’ve been here twice, thrice if you count dropping off that wine and you’ve been to my place zero times.”

Emily bit her lip adorably at his suggestion thinking this was definitely a weird conversation to be having with him. It’s not everyday you get asked to a celebrity’s place for a date and she begun overthinking the situation again.

“Em..i…ly,” Chris broke through her thoughts and made her look up at him again.

His face encouraged her to say yes that she just gave in and nodded receiving a wide smile from Chris who returned to his earlier playful mode.

“You know, no good date should end without at least a kiss,” he said that showing her his dimples as he very slowly leaned down, “not that this date ends the moment I kiss you,” his hand shifted to beneath her chin again angling it so he had the access he wanted while his other hand skirted around her waist gently that when his lips finally touched hers Emily’s heart was pounding with anticipation.

The kiss was Magic. He read about it so many times in countless scripts, hell, he acted it out in a few romantic comedies he made but he never really thought

any of it could be experienced in real life. But if the goosebumps all over his body, the increased beating of his heart and the sigh he unconsciously made as the tip of his tongue first touched her lips where all indications, his mind finally registered the reason for his pull toward Emily.

He was falling in love with her and he had totally no control over it.


	4. And So It Begins

**_A/N:_ ** _This is for all of you who ship Chrimily together. It may not happen in real life but we have fanfictions, fanarts, manips and our imagination to take us to that place where everything in the world is perfect and Chris Evans and Emily Bett Richards do happen._

_As we move along, I will be needing more time to churn out the next chapter, it’s going to be another three weeks because I do have a life to get back to._

**_While waiting, you can check-out my other Chrimily one-shots or Olicity stories via:_ **

**_Fanfiction – lollipopdiaries_ **

**_Ao3 – lollipopdiaries_ **

**_Tumblr – everythinglollipop_ **

**_Twitter – lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries) via links_ **

**_No disclaimers because I admit to everything! When they become a reality, I was one of the first to foreshadow it._ **

****

  **CHAPTER 4 – And so it begins**

 The constant vibrating of his phone on top of the coffee table slowly woke up Chris from a deep slumber at first disoriented and frowning as he tried to recollect why he had spent the night at his living room couch but immediately realized why when he became aware of the warm body pressed to his chest, his arm wrapped around it as if wanting to hold on to it.

 Taking a second to look down at the girl, be used his other hand to brush away a lock of her bangs that was blocking his view of her face, cringing inwardly when his phone vibrated once again making him shift a little so his arm could stretch out without waking the girl and reach his phone.

“Hey Charlie, this is not a good time,” Chris answered his phone and told his manager quickly wanting to get back to the peace and quiet of the morning with just him and Emily.

“You might want to press pause on that thought and under no circumstance are you leaving your condo until I get there,” Charlie told him.

Half-way through what Charlie was saying Chris started to untangle himself from Emily. One so that she wouldn’t wake up, second because the tone in his manager’s voice demanded that he gave his full attention to him.

“What’s this about?” Chris asked a little cautious as he took a few steps toward his open kitchen so he wouldn’t need to be whispering.

Charlie sighed, “word leaked out about some girl hauled out in your condo, I’m guessing the doctor is in the house?” Charlie tried to lighten the mood, “there were pictures posted on the gossip sites last night of you and Dr.Rickards entering your building and some older pictures of the two of you from the looks of it from that fundraising event and from outside her apartment seems like someone was stalking either you or her for the shots.”

Chris let that information sink, his elbows leaning on his kitchen counter recalling last night.

_Chris unlocked his unit with a security key card before he stepped aside to allow her to enter first._

_Emily took maybe three steps inside his penthouse unit and paused taking a breath in as she surveyed her surroundings before she turned to him, “this is definitely……nice,” was all she said changing her adjective the last second because better words described his crib – opulent, upscale, elegant, stylish and also showroom like, like something that was seen on a designer magazine. The place didn’t have the distinctive air of a lived-in kind of place like hers did. It screamed beautiful but detached. Much like a celebrity was._

_Chris glanced around his open type first storey penthouse trying to see what she was picturing in her mind. He only stayed here for a few days maybe weeks at a time having a paid professional housekeeper maintain the place in his absence, keeping it tidy and in tip-top shape. All Chris saw was what he had always seen when he first decided to purchase it, a place to spend a few days time in that was befitting a celebrity, or at least that was what the agent to the celebrities had said when he was selling the penthouse to him._

_But as Emily took a few more steps inside walking all the way to the floor to ceiling window that captured the nightscape perfectly, Chris felt a distinct tingle in his belly at the sight. Her standing right there, inside his penthouse unit with a smile on her face as she looked out the window, that foreign feeling of want settled on him._

_It wasn’t the first time he had brought women here, although there weren’t really that many. This was his private world after all. He strived to keep his ‘celebrity world’ and what little privacy he had separately. But this woman being here, with him, and him getting that fuzzy feel, this was something. It felt….right. Everything at that moment felt right._

_Even the place took on a warm and homey feeling. She did that. Chris knew exactly what was different._

_Not wanting to intrude on her moment, he made for his kitchen intending to re-start what was halfway done before he left to pick her up at her place._

_Chris let his glance linger for a few more seconds at the woman who was turning his world upside don before he gave his full attention to what else he had to be completed of their homemade dinner, another dish he had given careful thought on before deciding to make._

_So focused he was on his task that he failed to notice Emily now looking at him with speculation in her eyes. She had spent quite a few hours during the last few days just over-thinking her ‘Chris Evans’ situation realizing that this was really happening but choosing to look at this as a one foot in one foot out kind of thing, so just in case this was as far as it went, she still had her heart intact, no harm, no foul._

_But she knew she was fooling herself. She knew the man had already carved his way into her heart, and it wasn’t that slow kind of burn, no it was like a slap in the face kind of realization. And it happened in her kitchen a few days ago, as cliché as it sounded, while they were doing the dishes._

_Looking at the man now, she could clearly see why. While the man obviously had the face and body of an Adonis, it was the man hidden behind this celebrity persona that had her weak on the knees. She had no doubt that although he had tried to make light of his declaration in her kitchen, the words were meant with sincerity. That was the reason they were here now._

_“So what are we having for dinner?” She interrupted his focus as she made her way toward leaning over the nook that served as a divider for his dining and kitchen are._

_Chris gave her an extra warm smile that showed his dimples that had her screaming inside before answering her, “this,” turning over a cookbook that was resting on a wooden stand all but admitting to her that he was being guided by a cookbook._

_Emily gave out a laugh that had Chris just forgetting everything he was doing and just soaking up the way the woman looked at that moment. God, he was so screwed if something as simple as a laugh could get to him._

_“Baked Salmon,” Emily said as she read the title of the dish._

_“Yeah,” he said a little sheepishly with one hand behind his neck, an action he automatically took when he was unsure of something._

_Her only response was to turn the cookbook back his direction and stand up to make like going around the nook to his side of the kitchen. All he did was follow her actions with her eyes until she reached his side looking around the kitchen island and spotting something before she turned to him, “you’re doing some salad too. I can help with that.”_

_Chris used his hands as a base, holding on to the ledge of the nook as he leaned back to face her, “I promised you dinner, you don’t have to help I can manage it. Why don’t you just make yourself comfortable on the couch.”_

_“Will you let me wash up the dishes after?”_

_“I will not,” Chris answered her a little affronted, “you’re my guest and this is a date. I’m cooking, just me. You can park yourself right over there,” he reached her and had his hands on her shoulders turning her to the direction of the living room once again._

_Emily gently but firmly nudged Chris aside, “I can’t have you do all the cooking again. Why don’t you concentrate on that Salmon and make it the best Salmon I’ve ever tasted and whip us up some dessert, we do have dessert after right?”_

_“Of course, this is a full course meal that ends with dessert. Unfortunately I don’t do cakes, yet. I had this one ordered special for tonight. It’s resting right there?” Chris ended by pointing toward the three-door ref._

_During the next few minutes that followed, both Chris and Emily were doing their thing in the kitchen with Emily occasionally asking Chris where some other stuff were that she needed to complete the salad she was preparing._

_Again, that warm and homey feeling settled on Chris as he let his mind wander to imagining this being something that was an everyday occurrence in the ‘Evans’ household. There he said it, even if it was just in his mind. The want for this to be happening more frequently, dare he say everyday?_

_He knew they were a long ways to go, and his ‘job’ took him away far too often. But just the possibility of coming home to this was making him feel giddy._

_He started to clear his side of the kitchen, the Salmon was baking and all that was left to do was let it bake leaving him time to ponder on the woman just barely six feet from him still busily mixing the salad ingredient in a bowl._

_She looked like she belonged there and by there. He meant his home, his kitchen, his….._

_He even made her wear his special apron before she started to take on the salad, his ‘kiss the cook’ apron that was gifted to him by one of his sister’s as a joke. Well, who’s joking now because Chris went to follow the advice that was blatantly advertised on the apron. Yup, he didn’t mind if he did._

_Scooping Emily in his arms so suddenly she yelped before another sound escaped her, this time a moan as she kissed Chris back with equal fervor encouraging him to push her back gently so her back was now facing the kitchen sink. Talk about déjà vu. This scene had already played out, except that time they were in her kitchen and they had stopped at just a kiss._

_Now it seemed like not one of them wanted to put the brakes anytime as he angled her head with his hand to give him better access to her mouth, his tongue currently battling supremacy with hers._

_Damn, he was a good kisser, great even, she thought._

_Her kisses were like a drug to him. He didn’t want it to end and so did she, as he felt her pull him even closer. His hands had started to wander somehow and it registered belatedly on his brain that one hand was squeezing her ass and his other hand had made its way under bra and was gently massaging a breast._

_"Em….,” at the same time she realized where his hands where, he also realized he had been chanting her shorted name, more like moaning it in between deep kisses which was a totally new experience for him._

_Comprehending that her kissing partner had shifted his center, she gently but firmly pushed Chris away from her as she prepared to step aside, she however did not expect his hands on her waist locking her in place._

_“Hey,” he said softly while taking in how she looked, swollen lips, disheveled hair, pinked cheeks and a dash of heavy breathing as she still had to fully recover from the heavy make-out session they had._

_“Hey,” she said back finally resting her head on his shoulder proceeding without looking back up at him, “what brought that on.”_

_A hard laugh escaped him before he answered honestly, “would you believe me if I say the message in that apron called out to me, taunting me to do as it said?”_

_Emily used her palms to push away from his chest so she could have some room to glance down and finally notice what was written on the apron, ‘kiss the cook’, she totally missed seeing that the first time he was putting on the apron on her and thought it had the same message as his which just said ‘world’s greatest cook.’_

_She fisted her palms and lightly punched his chest and wow wasn’t it just like a solid brick as she willed her mind not to linger on that thought quickly clearing her throat, “I still have to finish the salad so maybe now is a good time to check on your Salmon. We can kiss more later or not…..”_

_“Definitely kiss more, later,” Chris gave her a warm smile then leaned down for one final kiss before he stepped away from her instantly missing her warmth._

_Two hours later, they were lounging in the living room couch, watching an Iron Man movie because he vehemently vetoed watching any of his own movies, totally relaxed after dinner and dessert, with his arm resting around her waist and her head on his shoulder. Chris loved this. He didn’t want this night to end yet but was scared to try to move forward to fast with her. Any other time, he would have moved this inside the bedroom already, any other time but this. While he knew she was willing to go a little further, he just couldn’t tell if this was the time for them to go all the way. Not being able to read her easily was killing him._

_His thumb was gently rubbing small patterns on her shoulder making her sigh contently, her eyes starting to hood as she leaned into him even further making him lock his arms even more around her as his insides fought between putting an end to the evening by taking her back to her apartment or just giving in to what he really wanted and just repositioning them so they would be lying down on his living room couch, with her wrapped in his arms._

_In the end, the latter won out. First using his central control console to turn-off the TV and the lights from where he remained then, pulling the throw rug from the back of the couch to cover both of them. He justified his decision as the correct one when his action of pulling her closer to him was rewarded with a satisfied meow._

So when the next morning he got a call from his manager Charlie, he had to take pause as his forearms rested against the kitchen nook.

 This media intrusion into his private life was normally fine, it came with the territory. But this time he was a little anxious because there was someone else affected, Emily.

 Judging by how much she had initially resisted him and from what she had shared with him when they were at her place, in her kitchen, he wasn’t exactly standing on firm ground yet with her although hopefully after last night he had gained some ground.

He knew that one small hiccup could send her running and the media attention was definitely a hiccup as far as she was concerned.

 He had to tread lightly.

 After a last heavy exhale, he absorbed himself in the task of preparing the coffee and a light breakfast for them before it was time to wake her up. Maybe feeding her first before burdening her with the information about the media storm that was coming would be to his advantage, or at least that’s what he prayed for.

 

* * *

 

“You can’t see them from here,” Charlie was the one who answered her question if they were out there right now because they were in the penthouse, it was too far up high to see the road below.

 “Why is it so interesting who _he_ spends time with,” pointing her finger at Chris but still looking at Charlie.

 During the entire time Chris had told her about what Charlie had called about to the time Charlie had arrived and reinforced his earlier advice for them to stay indoors, Emily had started to distance herself from Chris choosing a side of the room and spent the whole time just pacing while both Chris and Charlie just looked at her, letting her brew all she wanted.

 “Emily,” Chris stood up and started to approach her.

 “No. Stay right there,” Emily said stepping back for emphasis.

 “Emily,” Chris repeated, his face falling at her reaction.

Emily wrapped her arms around herself, “look, I’m not usually this dramatic. I’ve had no reason to be before and I know deep down right now, I have no reason too. I knew this could happen if this,” gesturing between them, “continued although really I didn’t think it would be this soon and more importantly that people would have any interest in me. Although, it’s not really me that they’re interested in, it’s you.”

Chris could do nothing but rub his neck as he faced Emily with a guilty expression attempting to take a step toward her but stopping midway to look at Charlie as if to asking him to give them some space. He was brought to a halt as Emily herself moved forward this time to turning to Charlie.

 “Can I hitch a ride with you out of here?”

Chris was caught unprepared with the stance Emily had taken, wanting to get out of his place as soon as possible.

Charlie had caught his wards surprise look and briefly made eye contact as if to assure him, “Emily, I think its best that you stay put for a few more hours, until everything quiets down.”

“But I can’t, I have rounds to do at the hospital in a few hours. I need to get ready. I can’t go there in yesterday’s clothes, that’s going to cause an even bigger riot than what’s already out there. I won’t put my life on hold because of….this,” she finished while not even daring to look in Chris’ direction.

 “Em,” Chris started again but she didn’t give him time to get pass the shortened version of her name.

 “No. It’s my life that’s being upended since apparently this is a normal occurrence in yours,” she told him quite frankly, “I still get to decide what happens in my life.”

 All Chris could do after her statement was sigh partly in frustration, and partly because she was right.

 Emily chanced a look at Chris seeing his deflated state, she decided to be honest with him, “look, I don’t blame you. This is not a blame game. And, I had a good time last night,” stepping nearer to him so it would come out as a whisper shrugging as she continued, “I’m not going to go running for the hills or anything,” she could hear Chris’ inhale of relief at her last sentence. “But, I also won’t allow my life to be disrupted by this. I have to continue living my life.”

 Chris dared to step closer to her, forgetting for a moment that they were not alone, “so you and me, we’re okay? Are we okay?” he asked her searching her eyes.

 Emily answered by lifting her hand to his cheek and giving him a sweet smile, “of course we are. At least I think we are? You aren’t having second thought are you? After all the work you put in to woo me.”

Chris smiled at last, showing her the dimples she loved, “I did try to lay on the charm.”

Emily tiptoed to kiss his cheek before she looked past Chris toward Charlie who was pretending he was looking anywhere else but at them.

“You can look back now Charlie, I saw you sneaking a look anyway. I really do need a ride back to my place.”

“Then I’ll take you. I brought you here. I should be the one taking you back to your place. I mean, if we’re doing this, then they should get use to seeing more of you and me together anyways, no time like the present for them to get an eyeful.” Chris told her, now more confidently.

“Like come out? I mean we’re not a you and me yet, like a couple. We’re you and me, not yet quite there. It sounded a little different in my head but I think you get the picture,” Emily told Chris as she heard a snicker from Charlie.

“Em, I understand the principle of wooing, and I know we’re not quite their.....yet,” emphasizing the last word, “but believe me when I say, I’m not going anywhere. I know I have to put in more effort to win your trust and your heart. And I am perfectly prepared to do that. The only thing I’m sorry about is the disruption the media will be causing in your life because of me.”

He heard Emily sigh, “yeah….I will have to get used to that, wont I?’ she turned to Chris with a sullen expression, “I mean if this is going to work, I should. And I do, I want this to work too. Maybe taking this real slow will help me….us.”

 “Whatever you think is right, I’ll do it. Just as long as it’s not walking away from us, I’ll be fine with it.”

 “Okay,” Emily breathed heavily, “then we’re doing this.” She laughed then bit her lip before she repeated, “we’re doing this.”

Chris’ emotions were bursting at the seams, overwhelmed with the thought that she was willing to give them a go despite even after realizing the disruption he and the media frenzy around him would bring to her life that he just wrapped his arms around her again and buried his face in her hair, “you’re not going to regret this. I promise. If there is one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I am falling for you. And I know there will be times you’d feel like pushing me away, feel like giving up on us. I’m telling you know, I won’t allow that to happen. I’ll keep pounding on your door. Park myself inside your ER. Bombard you with calls and text messages. Because this is worth it, you are going to be worth all of it.”

Emily placed her hands on her cheeks trying to hide the blush that was forming as Chris gave her his impassioned speech, but Chris caught what she was doing.

 “And don’t ever try to hide what you’re feeling from me. To make this work, we need to invest an equal amount of time communicating.”

Emily just nodded her head at him, unable to even mumble out a simple yes but as she spotted the clock and saw it was barely an hours before her scheduled time, and she gave out a noticeable gasp, “I really have to go.”

 “Okay, let’s go then. I’m taking you to your apartment then dropping you off at the hospital. I’ll pick you up after you shift and no arguments please,” Chris said as Emily started to protest, “I said I’m doing this and I am. I may be a lot of things but really all I am is just a guy who’s prepared to woo the girl that he likes. So yup, that includes driving you around, dropping you of and picking you up.”

 “Okay,” Emily said quietly.

 “Okay.” Chris answered her with another one of his smiles.

 

* * *

 

 

**_One last chapter to go I think then it’s finito!_ **

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